On a Sleepless Night
by jjhatter
Summary: Songfic; I think I'll keep quiet about this one. Summary inside. R&R!


Hey there, readers! First of all, I'd like to give everyone a very special notice: to ring in the New Year, this January (hopefully within the first week or two) I'll be putting up the first chapters of two very special stories. Some of you already know which ones I'm talking about. I meant to put them up this week, but some things came up. I literally just came up with this today, so, please, don't kill me if it isn't as good as a few other things.

Disclaimer: The song here is _The Thunder Rolls_ by Garth Brooks. Don't own it. Sorry! And, just to keep things straight here, I don't own _Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland_ either, but you probably guessed that.

Summary: My version of the night Iracebeth gave the order to kill the Red King/King of Hearts. Very dark, just so you know. Inspired by the song _The Thunder Rolls._

Rating: K+

**On a Sleepless Night**

_Three-thirty in the morning…_

_Not a soul in sight…_

_The city's looking like a ghost town_

_On a moonless summer night…_

_Raindrops on the windshield;_

_There's a storm moving in…_

_He's heading back from somewhere_

_That he never should have been…_

_And the Thunder Rolls…._

_And the Thunder Rolls…_

Wualfbern, the Red King, was in a hurry. Which was odd, as no one who knew him could ever remember a time he'd hurried to do something in his lifetime. As he ran out of the White Palace of Marmoreal, he caught the eyes of every courtier. What on earth was the King of Crims doing in the White Queen's castle?

Speaking of the Queen, she chased after the King, confused and just a little bit frightened.

"Wualf! Wualf, tell me: what's wrong?"

The King did not answer. He jumped into the coach he'd come in, sneaking into the palace, and quickly sped off.

The Queen stared after him. He'd come to tell her something…he'd said something terrible was happening in Salazen Grum…but, just as suddenly as he'd entered her chambers, he'd run out, saying only, "Goodbye. Pray for me…I'll need it now. She'll think I've…"

And then he'd stopped. Mirana was left standing in the portal of the drawbridge, dumbstruck, as the rain began to fall, pitter-pattering on the horse-head shaped marble statues of the gardens. She sighed.

_Wualfbern…what's going on?_

A pity Mirana would never find out.

A pity no one in Marmoreal would ever see the Red King again.

In the coach the King wiped his brow. His long, curly black hair and goatee were messy, his simple, gold hoop-shaped crown crooked, and his red robes and blue cape soaked. But it could be worse.

He could have no head.

"Go faster!" he called out to the driver. "The storm's thickening fast, and if she finds out…"

_She'll murder me. No doubt of it. I HAVE to get back…I have to, so I can come back, and warn them…_

Purple flames and fiery eyes flashed in his mind.

He shuddered.

Lightning flashed in the distance…he thanked heaven it came from the sky.

"Racey's gone _gallymoggers,_" he muttered. "That beast will be her undoing. I know it…and, if not hers, Mira's…"

_Every light is burning_

_In the house across town._

_She's pacing by the window_

_In her favorite flannel gown,_

_Asking for a miracle…_

_Hoping she's not right…_

_Praying it's the weather_

_That's kept him out all night…_

_And the Thunder Rolls…_

_And the Thunder Rolls…_

Back in Salazen Grum, the Red Queen could not sleep. She paced by the window of her bedroom, wearing nothing but a red, flannel nightgown, decorated with a print of black diamonds. If she'd known any prayers, she would have said them all…fifty times each.

Where was Wualf? He'd never been so late out before. He often was late out…but it was long past midnight! The latest he'd left her before had been ten o'clock.

It wasn't his safety she feared for…it was just that he'd been going so often, and now she was wondering if he'd come back.

Why had he left anyway, she began to ponder, a bit angrily. What was out there for him? He had her, the most beautiful and powerful Queen in the history of Underland…nay! The most powerful in the Universe! Was that not enough?

Then a familiar white figure popped into her over-sized brain, and suddenly the nervousness…the horror…began to rise, like bread with too much yeast.

"Mirana…" she growled.

Of course! Her little witch of a sister could make anyone adore her with just a wink of her eyes! If Wualfbern had ever seen Mirana…

No. No, he wouldn't do that to his Racey. He wouldn't leave his Racey for that stuck-up, albino brat…

Would he?

"Majesty?"

The Queen turned to see Illosovic Stayne – her most trusted soldier – standing in the doorway.

"Oh. Hello, Stayne."

"Majesty," Stayne said, surprise mingled into his oily, husky voice. "It's three thirty! The future Queen of all Underland ought to rest."

"As long as my Jabber-baby-wocky sleeps, ready for tomorrow, all will be well. You will be leading the raid, remember?"

"Yes, of course, Majesty."

A long pause.

"Stayne?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Station some guards. As soon as the King gets here, report straight to me. And no mistakes, or you all lose more than your sleep."

The Knave visibly shivered.

"As you command, Majesty," oozed Stayne, and quickly scuttled away.

The Queen resumed her staring out the window. She'd captured and tamed the fabled Jabberwocky, and it now bowed and bent to her will like a dog. Indeed, around her, the _whiffling_ creature seemed like a much-loved, if enlarged, pet snake. (Actually a fairly gentle pet to own.)

Tomorrow, with its help, she would take back everything that rightfully belonged to her.

Tonight, only one thing mattered: getting back Wualf.

Dead or alive.

_The Thunder Rolls,_

_And the Lightning Strikes!_

_Another love grows cold_

_On a Sleepless Night!_

_As the storm blows on,_

_Out of control,_

_Feeding bitter hearts…_

_And the Thunder Rolls…_

The coach finally arrived. To King Wualfberns dismay, the Knave was waiting with two Card Guards.

Neither the Red King nor the Red Queen knew that a night like this was just what Illosovic Stayne had been waiting for. It didn't take a mathematician to figure out that "Her Majesty" was having doubts about something…and it didn't take a scientist to come to the conclusion that that something was the King's loyalty.

With the King out of the way, things would be all the easier for Stayne to expand his power in the annals of Underland's soon-to-be ruling party.

"Your Highness," he greeted. "The Red Queen – your bride – is in her chambers, awaiting your arrival. Shall I report to her?"

The King nodded, silent, head bowed to hide his nervous expression, chin pressed hard against the ruby heart brooch of his cape.

But Stayne found no need to go upstairs. For at that moment, the doors to the palace swung open, and in no time, a short figure, with a "triplified" head, was running in the rain – wearing nothing but a red flannel gown – towards the cloaked figure of King Wualfbern.

_She's waiting by the window,_

_When he pulls into the drive…_

_She rushes out to hold him,_

_Thankful he's alive…!_

"Wualf! Wualf! Wualf, where have you…?"

Iracebeth had barely reached the edge of the drawbridge when the wind blew into her face, a blast of water carried in it…

And a very familiar smell…

She opened her eyes slowly, tears mingling with the rain water.

It was just as she'd feared…

_But along with the wind and rain,_

_A strange, new perfume blows…_

_And the lightning flashes in her eyes!_

_He knows that she knows!_

For a long time, all three just stood there. The Queen's face begin to glow bright red, even in the darkness of the stormy night. The King shook fiercely, as the lightning flashed in her eyes, revealing a terrible, furious, betrayed expression.

The Knave and the Guards backed slowly away. Iracebeth, the Red Queen of Salazen Grum, decided, in that moment, that tomorrow would be too late. Tonight, the army would ready, so that in the morning, all would be hers.

But first, something needed to be taken care of. Immediately. And to _henfan_ with the rain!

Her awful shriek of rage echoed across the sky: _**"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"**_

_The Thunder Rolls,_

_And the Lightning Strikes!_

_Another love grows cold_

_On a Sleepless Night!_

_As the storm blows on, _

_Out of control!_

_Feeding bitter hearts!_

_And the Thunder Rolls!_


End file.
